FEC for all 6 cycles instead of docetaxel for the last 3

Hi seza43 welcome to  the forum. I dont know enough about the question you are asking but I wondered if you might like to copy and paste your post into the Chemo forum as maybe some of the lovely folks in there may know more and can help..

I have inserted the link that will take you to the Chemo thread and you need only click this in this email to take you there.

chemo thread-Breast Cancer

Hi Sarah, the E in FEC can affect your heart,  and the effect is dose cumulative (the more doses,  the more likely). I had 4 EC, and felt an increasing tightness after each one. It can happen up to 8 years after chemo,  but most likely in the first couple   I had a clear heart scan after chemo, but my blood pressure is higher than before so something changed.  It used to be about 125/80  and is now 140/80.

Could you not have weekly Paclitaxel and  wear iced boots (Amazon sell them) and gloves? With the weekly you would be aware of any neuropathy sooner and sp before it did real damage.  I asked for weekly and was given it.  

Good luck! X

I had neo-adjuvant EC-T and the docetaxel did far more shrinkage than the EC. I found it tougher than EC and ended up having my dosage reduced for the final 2 cycles but was glad I did it as I was able to have lumpectomy rather than mastectomy. I found it sore on muscles and I had bad chills but I didn't get neuropathy. I am very active and also need my hands for work and hobbies. I have actually found the exemestane far worse on my hands, though this does loosen off with activity.

I was lucky to be able to see what the chemo was doing with MRI scans so I knew how good the docetaxel was. Some people breeze through docetaxel with very few side effects.

As Londonmumof2 says, EC is bad for your heart amongst other things. There are so many risks with chemo but most people don't have long term side effects and recover completely.

Thank you for your reply, that’s really helpful information. 
I can’t do the icing as I have raynauds, as this is something I would have tried otherwise. 
I’m also not sure why but I did also ask the chemo nurse if they did weekly docetaxel and she said they only do 3 weekly and weekly is not an option. I had also read about weekly doses being better for neuropathy. 

I feel like I’m damned with either treatment to be honest!

I hope you are now recovering well and thank you again for your reply xx

So my cancer is technically ‘cured’, and the chemo is a ‘mop up’ of cancer cells just in case any got out. So I’m not trying to shrink anything, just stop it from coming back.

My predicament is that I’m at the end of my midwifery degree and if I end up with neuropathy in my hands then it’s unlikely I’m going to be able to qualify. Which kind of ruins my whole career plans…:(

even if it gets better in a couple of years, I’m not sure I can afford to have my hands out of action…

really don’t know what to do!!

thank you for taking the time to reply I really appreciate it x

I can understand that you're not sure what to do. If you look it up on Google, you would think that everyone gets it as well so I can understand your hesitation. I just wanted to give you a success story, though we all react differently so it probably doesn't really help you. I guess seeing the shrinkage gave me more confidence that it was doing the mopping up in the rest of my body too. 

You can also get nerve damage with EC, but then if you looked at all the side effects you'd never take anything!

I would probably speak more to your BCN or oncologist about it as they might be able to give you a better idea of actual risks and whether there's anything you can do to reduce the risks. 

I hope you are able to come to  decision. Cancer treatment is really pretty awful, isn't it?

It really is awful . I know it’s my decision at the end of the day, but I just want someone to tell me what to do as I’m working myself in to such a tizz that that can’t be helpful either.

if only we had a magic ball I would be able to make my decision! 

And yes, i agree about the side effects. It doesn’t help that all the people I know who have had the treatment have got neuropathy which has affected them long term. So your success story is great to hear about! I feel like I might just make a random decision on the day when I end up talking to the doctor before next treatment (as it’s only the day before treatment). It was virtually impossible to talk to the doctor last time I tried! 

xx

Hi  sorry you find yourself having to make a seemingly difficult decision. I’ve had 4 x EC and 2 out of 4 Docetaxol and haven’t yet suffered PN. I did have a reaction to the first D and had red/burning hands and feet but seem to have overcome this with regular moisturising with 10% Urea cream (Eucerin), taking antihistamine for the few days after the cycle. Also keeping them cool - I didn’t use the cold gloves and socks during treatment but did use the dog’s cooling mat!

Now day 12 after cycle and hands and feet are fine apart from a bit of dry skin. I know I haven’t finished yet and it could still kick in but I’m going with the “so far so good” approach.

Wishing you well whatever you decide and every success with your degree xx

Hello seza

I had 3x EC and 3x Docetaxel along with Herceptin and perjeta and finished the chemo a couple of months ago. I had no neuropathy at all, so I hope that this will reassure you that it doesn't always follow. I am similar to Beat the beast, my treatment was neo-aduvant for a large 52mm HER+ lump and resulted in a complete pathological clearance. If I had not had this chemo and the targeted therapy I was told I would have needed a complete mastectomy and axillary clearance. I could actually feel the lump shrinking down as each dose progressed. This was confirmed by 2  MRI scans that I had during the chemo, which gave me a great boost and impetus to carry on with it.

I don't regret having this treatment and I am so grateful to the NHS for giving it to me.

Thank you  

so glad to hear you’re not having big issues so far. It does make me think that maybe I should give it a go and see how I get on. Maybe I will be not get any!

I know it can be late onset too but really hope you  get through without any.

Wishing you all the best for the rest of your treatment and thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post, I really appreciate it 

xx